The flat bar didn't work well with 2 kids in back. Nitto Dove bar did the trick tho:

A friend had an ergomo laying around so I threw it on to track how much I really use her:

Added SKS fenders, swapped the pedals for a set of green mallets (thought they would match better, but they didn't :/) and the ergomo necessitated a crankset, but the shop had an Interloc they gave me FOC (always helps to lube the local wrenches periodically with homebrew). Slow release in the front and the chariot hitch skewer in the back.

I finally was willing to commit to changing the controls out to the paul's that have been in a bin for too long (and added a coffee holder):

I really like the friction backup. This will do until I commit to the rohloff+large marge route in the future.

I intend to not only schlep kiddos with the Dummy but try to do as much zero emmision racing as possible. So a shout out on twitter and two new (to me) thule trays. And today, a dry fit. I will run both wide loaders for the front wheel:

Tomorrow, after the kids soccer game is state crit then a bike pub crawl.

Just like my old jeep, the bike on top costs more than what is carrying it! Seem apropos.

I am still looking for an orange magic carpet. I also might tackle the Burley Piccolo as my kids get older. If so, I would remake the rack for the piccolo such that a std snapdeck could fit OVER the top of the moose rack when not in use.

Installing the bike showed me why I need a centerstand... will be trolling for a used one.

And while I get about on the 20" frame, really, I can tell the 18 would be a better fit for me (especially in terms of ingress/egress from the cockpit w/ a 5 and 6yo on the back).

This weekend, I tackle the local XC race in my back yard. About a 1.25hr commute to the race course before racing the ss for 27miles. Then ride home.

In the mean time, the dummy gets used almost every day. I haven't subjected my kids to pickup on the dummy in the rain (and we seem to be getting a lot of that stuff lately), as I want them to enjoy the ride.

Pickup from school (curb your carbon):

Playground trips:

Picnic trips:

And of course the gratitous cargo (50lbs of dog food and 40lbs of fertilizer plus marigolds to protect my hop farm):

The dummy also seems to be something that consumes (at least until it is fully "set up") money. Although based on the fact that Dylan keeps spending money on his, I suspect it is going to be eternally "upgraded.

First off, my ergomo is dead. Another from a friend is coming this way, so in the meantime I have been using my iphone with mobile logger from robert calrsen (an open source project from a golden cheetah developer: http://mobilelogger.robertcarlsen.net/)

It works great, but sucks batteries on the already battery-limited iphone. A $32 solar charger from buy.com and a little velcro and life is much better w/o a dead phone:

Next addition happened after back to back trips that left me coming home around 1am. Homebrew meeting and book (I mean drinking) club.

I needed some lights. Without the fancy loop bar, Paul's Gino mounts are key. Add to that two el cheapo cateye lights and replace the batteries with rechargeable AAAs and you have:

and tailights:

And the next iteration is adding the moose rack for a piccolo:

I have seen how others have done it, but based off this dry fit and some conversations with both xtracycle and surly, my first swing at it is to cut the top off the moose rack and bolt it to an ecodeck (with some slight modifications).

If that works, I am good to go, if not, scrap it and weld on two additional sets of rack braze ons. But seeing as how I would like to swap for an 18" sometime in the future, I am reticent to attempt that for fear of resale value.

The ecodeck setup has the added advantage of being able to hot swap the piccolo for std snapdeck+magic carpet for the sum total of the four superhook bolts. Fast, easy and clean.

Ecodeck and 4 whatchamacollars should arrive next week.

Regardless, what is a dummy to do with the box that the piccolo came in? Haul it to the bike shop recycling dumpster of course!

I had seen mods before of the dummy with a piccolo as well as a trial-a-bike (seatpost version).

The seatpost version I didn't like since it was so LONG.

The piccolo version (mounts to a rear rack) I really liked, but I didn't like how you gave up half your snapdeck.

So I thought I would do something different.

I get an ecodeck and modified the rack to mount directly to it.

I started by dry fitting the rack to the ecodeck hole pattern:

and then lopped off the "rack" part:

A dry fit looked good:

And the rack/interface suggested more chopping:

When the ecodeck arrived, I was a bit too excited to document along the way, but I ended up chopping the rack to the bare minimum required, drilled holes through it and the ecodeck and bolted it all together with some 1/4-20 stainless fasteners I had laying around:

So now it is complete:

This greatly improves the kids comfort as they are not snug up against each other on the snapdeck. And as an added bonus, you really, REALLY can feel the extra help of the piccolo uphill.

After a month of being picked up from school on the dummy, the 6yo was getting tired of riding tight with his bother. But after a few laps around the block, a few trips to the park this weekend, he said, "Now, you can pick us up on the dummy any time you want."

As an added bonus, it really makes stuffing the freeloaders to the gills much easier as you only have to clear one set of legs.

My only "conflict" is I have been running the wide loaders non-stop with the bike tray. With the bike tray pointed backwards, it hits the piccolo. So I either need to reverse the tray, or like Devo, ditch the tray altogether and just strap the bike to the bike and go down the road. Will contemplate that for a bit before deciding.

Man, that is sooo freakin’ cool! I had been wondering what I was going to do once my boys outgrow the Burley D’Lite trailer. Now, having read your posts and having also closely examined the pictures, I now know what bike I need to buy next. My oldest son will be 6 years old in December, and is growing tall like a beanstalk, so for sure his days in the trailer are numbered.

Thanks for such an inspirational post!!!

QUOTE from MTBR.COM: You have given Brewtality too much Reputation in the last 24 hours, try again later.

Glad it has helped you... it is a superb thing. We actually did two trips today on it - I did the school run and later in the day, groceries.

The one on the piccolo is 6 and the one on the dummy is 5.

The end of last season was the end of the chariot for them. They just couldn't stand it too much being in there together. I think it might be because they are so close in age that they both want the same stuff in the trailer to play with and so sharing becomes the issue...

I know others that are either 1) farther apart in age or 2) not the same sex and they tend to last longer in trailers...

FWIW, I am going to try and reinforce the mount some and make it more robust... The 2 bolt just has a low overhead of safety considering it is all that is holding him on back there. More on that later...

But gotta say, love the "turbo" as several of our routes have some steep hills... and he loves helping out!

"FWIW, I am going to try and reinforce the mount some and make it more robust... The 2 bolt just has a low overhead of safety considering it is all that is holding him on back there. More on that later..."

At least use some grade 8 or better bolts... those bolts aren't meant for such a load.

I had seen mods before of the dummy with a piccolo as well as a trial-a-bike (seatpost version).

The seatpost version I didn't like since it was so LONG.

The piccolo version (mounts to a rear rack) I really liked, but I didn't like how you gave up half your snapdeck.

So I thought I would do something different.

I get an ecodeck and modified the rack to mount directly to it.

I started by dry fitting the rack to the ecodeck hole pattern:

and then lopped off the "rack" part:

A dry fit looked good:

And the rack/interface suggested more chopping:

When the ecodeck arrived, I was a bit too excited to document along the way, but I ended up chopping the rack to the bare minimum required, drilled holes through it and the ecodeck and bolted it all together with some 1/4-20 stainless fasteners I had laying around:

So now it is complete:

This greatly improves the kids comfort as they are not snug up against each other on the snapdeck. And as an added bonus, you really, REALLY can feel the extra help of the piccolo uphill.

After a month of being picked up from school on the dummy, the 6yo was getting tired of riding tight with his bother. But after a few laps around the block, a few trips to the park this weekend, he said, "Now, you can pick us up on the dummy any time you want."

As an added bonus, it really makes stuffing the freeloaders to the gills much easier as you only have to clear one set of legs.

My only "conflict" is I have been running the wide loaders non-stop with the bike tray. With the bike tray pointed backwards, it hits the piccolo. So I either need to reverse the tray, or like Devo, ditch the tray altogether and just strap the bike to the bike and go down the road. Will contemplate that for a bit before deciding.

A few months later, how is the HDPE deck holding up to the rigors of your little afterburner pedaling with you? I ordered my Big Dummy on the 16th, along with the Peapod LT (for my 4 year old), and am going to be adding an Add-A-Cycle for my 6 year old, and need to plan for any surprises with the “added torque” factor of little legs.

Thanks!

QUOTE from MTBR.COM: You have given Brewtality too much Reputation in the last 24 hours, try again later.

A few months later, how is the HDPE deck holding up to the rigors of your little afterburner pedaling with you? I ordered my Big Dummy on the 16th, along with the Peapod LT (for my 4 year old), and am going to be adding an Add-A-Cycle for my 6 year old, and need to plan for any surprises with the “added torque” factor of little legs.

Thanks!

The deck is holding up well.

The bracket is going to a local framebuilder to tack additional support to it this weekend.

Most of the dummy as pictured above is sold. A replacement is coming this way in short order. And finally going rohloff in the rear.

The plan is to get the new (to me) frameset here, and powdercoat it and all the parts, including the welded mount. Then to reassembly.

She is about to change dramatically, just in time to be loaded with 2x cx bike like I had prophesized back in 2008: